PayPal has announced plans to bring its online payments system into retail outlets in the US, "and potentially to millions of international merchant locations in future".
The company is partnering with US banking and payments provider Discover Financial Services, which services over 7 million US stores.
To use money in their PayPal accounts in the stores, customer must sign up for a Discover card, which has its own PIN number.
Paypal says it will increase convenience by introducing additional transaction methods, such as mobile payments, in the future.
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“Consumers will be able to take advantage of the benefits of PayPal at these merchant locations, providing them with the simplicity, speed and security they’ve come to expect from PayPal across any channel, any time,” said PayPal in a statement.
Diane Offereins, president of Discover Payment Services, said: “The establishment of this relationship is a major industry milestone, which will help shape the emerging payments landscape by bringing together an established direct banking and payments company with a leading commerce enabler to create an alternative payments option for consumers at the point of sale.”
Earlier this year Paypal introduced PayPal Here, a free app that allows businesses in the US to process payments using a thumb-sized card reader attached to a smartphone. It was launched in response to the growing number of mobile payment options provided by companies such as Square, launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2009.
A group of global retail companies, including WalMart, Target and 7-Eleven, recently formed the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), which will allow millions of US consumers to make payments through a smartphone app.
